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LIVESTOCK MATTERS
16
AUTUMN 2013 ISSUE
MAST I T I S FEATURE
In August 2012, there was a sharp rise in
clinical cases. Adrian raised the issue with
Jonathan on one of his fortnightly fertility visits.
An investigation followed; bacteriology tests
revealed the pathogens behind the mastitis
were those found in the environment - E.coli,
and Strep. uberis.
Adrian also mentioned to Jonathan that for a
long time he had wondered why his cows
had ‘warty’ teat ends, which were apparent
as the clusters came off.
Jonathan explains: ‘This is due to a build-up
of keratin around the tip of the teat - called
hyperkeratosis. It’s caused by the milking
process - it can affect teat closure and also
creates an environment in which bacteria can
inhabit. This makes the cow more susceptible
to mastitis infection from environmental
pathogens, and in turn can lead to higher
cell counts.’
So the first step was to assess the scale of
the problem: one of Jonathan’s Kingsway
colleagues visited during a milking and
carried out some teat-end scoring. As each
cluster came off, the ends of the teats were
scored for how smooth or rough they were
on a scale of 1 to 4.
The scores highlighted there was a significant
problem of hyperkeratosis, as cows were
being over-milked. Alterations to the milking
machine set-up were needed. So Adrian
called in his dairy engineer.
Previously, the milk flow threshold for cut-off
was 200ml/min - this has been increased to
400ml/min. And the take-off time has been
reduced so clusters come off quicker once
milk-out has ceased. To help the cows adjust
to the different timings, these changes were
made gradually, with the engineer visiting
three times over a 10-week period.
Jonathan explains: ‘With a flow rate setting of
400ml/min, the cows are being milked for a
shorter time - but it doesn’t mean yield is
being lost. It does mean there’s less pulling on
the teat, less damage, and ultimately less
opportunity for bacteria to invade the teat.’
‘Sometimes, when parlours are upgraded the
system can revert to factory settings. So it’s a
good idea to always check the settings after
any alterations are made.’
The new settings have made a dramatic
difference to teat condition, with very few
‘warty’ teats occurring now (see graph).
The percentage of teats which are in good
condition - a score of 1 or 2 - has risen from
74% to 92%.
At the same time, Adrian also changed his
procedures for teat preparation. He had been
using an iodine-based spray for pre and
post-milking. But then switched to a foam dip
pre-milking, followed by a barrier dip with a
high level of emollients, for post-milking.
Adrian adds: ‘The foam dip is more
expensive than spraying, and not as quick,
but it contains ingredients beneficial for
teat repair.’
Jonathan adds: ‘Not only does teat condition
have an impact on milk hygiene, but it also
reduces milking time as teats are easier to
prepare, and cows are more comfortable.’
With the progress made this year in reducing
cell counts, Adrian has now stopped
disinfecting clusters in-between cows: ‘We
have saved a bit of time in doing this, but
obviously the dipping takes longer so at the
end of the day, we are about evens.’
He adds: ‘For several years now, cows with
higher cell counts have been milked last. This
all helps reduce the risk of cross-contamination
in the parlour.’
Altering milking machine
set-up
Adrian sums it up: ‘We used to get
around 100 mastitis cases per 100
cows per year. By culling out the high
cell count cows and using a teat sealant,
it reduced to around 60 cases. By
introducing peracetic acid, cases
dropped to 45 per 100 cows per year.
‘In the past 6 months, thanks to alterations
to the milking machine set-up, and
perhaps the introduction of the foam dip,
we are now running at around 35 cases
of mastitis per 100 cows per year. I just
wish I’d mentioned the warty teat-ends
a bit sooner!’
Jonathan adds: ‘I make fortnightly routine
fertility visits for many of my dairy clients.
But I’m not just there to PD cows. It’s a
great opportunity to talk about other
aspects of herd health and production,
some of which may not require a special
call-out and can be sorted quite quickly.
So my advice to any farmer who has
noticed something a bit different is to just
run it by your vet when he next visits, you
never know how much it could save you!’
Better and better
Hyperkeratinisation
Teat Scores for Adrian Beresford
Foam dip
Cluster removal